Even subscribers who arenâ€™t humorists can learn something; humor can spark an otherwise very dull book proposal, for example. So listen up! Here is Anne Louise with a â€œHumor Hintâ€ straight from her first appearance in â€œSharing with Writers.â€

In order to be humorous, writing needs to have a twist thatâ€™s unexpected â€“ an element of surprise. Here is a perfect example of an unexpected conclusion from Erma Bombeck: â€œWhen my kids become wild and unruly, I use a nice, safe playpen. When theyâ€™re finished, I climb out.â€

I must say that my ideas arenâ€™t always this good, so I have devised this â€œunexpectationâ€ test for my writing: I read the story aloud to someone, but I pause before the punch line and ask them what they think is coming. If they start their answer with â€œDuhâ€, then I know I need to rework, or at least reword, the story. Sometimes, one of them will come up with something way better than what I had, which is why I always call this a collaborative process. 😉 May your keyboard never falter!